My First Triathlon

Many go into their first triathlon with the simple goal of finishing, these are the newcomers to the sport. I was a newcomer and this was my first but since I had been training for nearly two years I had higher expectations for myself than just finishing a sprint tri. I wanted to have a "good race." Fast times and smooth transitions. My swimming should be strong, my bike just needed to happen, and my run would hopefully help me to chase down a few of those strong bikers.

Multisport is a tricky thing. There are three disciplines and if you have a weakness it is unlikely that you will be a top finisher. I know my weakness, it is on the bike. I will continue to work at that but as a collegiate runner I really only have time to work on the run, but I have many years to come when I can get stronger on the bike.

I was however stuck in a place of uncertainty. I had been running cross country and track well into the spring and I was getting tired. Every now and then you need a recovery period of easier workouts to just good old time off. Time those recovery periods incorrectly and you could find yourself out of shape at the wrong time... Like I said, multisport is tricky. I realized I needed recovery all to late around the end of April. Things to improve on in the future.

I took a few easy weeks and then hit training hard in mid may with about three weeks to go, I crossed my fingers that I hadn't gotten too out of shape in the recovery period.

I was entered in the Buffalo Triathlon in Buffalo MN on June 5th, I had been suggested this race by a friend who insisted it was "fun and friendly." It was just that.

1/4 mile swim; 13.3 mile bike; 3 mile run   about 900 participants
Race plan: Go out hard on the swim get in front of your wave and don't worry about getting caught in the punching and kicking of the middle of the wave. Transition to bike and feel out the course, don't go too hard to soon, keep comfortable in the first 8 miles start to push a little for the last 5. Transition to run. Longer strides for first half mile, loosen up those biking muscles. Shorten strides and increase cadence after loosening up. At turnaround increase effort to maintain pace, start your kick with about 1/4 mile to go. Never settle during the race, keep that slight edge of pushing.

Not too complex. Just a few things to keep in mind.

Race:
Swim: There were about 20 waves of 50 racers, I was in wave 8. The gun went off and I rand til mid-thigh water height and dove in. Streamline under water glide with strong dolphin kicks to get ahead of the pack. My adrenaline was pumping and I came up sprinting. Before long I was already in the middle of the wave ahead of me. Passed them and moved onto the next wave. First out of the water in my wave @ 5:07 7th overall in the race. Good start!

T1: Pardon my language... it was a shit show! I'd practiced many times but my brain was overexcited. Taking my wetsuit off getting it caught on my timing chip made me panic. Got it off and threw on my helmet before my bike jersey, took of the helmet and threw on the jersey, wet body + tight jersey = stuck. I pulled and yanked at it to get it down heard a few stitches rip and tried to calm myself. Shoes on I grabbed my bike and forgot the helmet, ran back and grabbed the helmet and hopped on my bike. 3:42... humorous after the fact.

Bike: Flat and fast but a bit of headwind for the first few miles until the turns t turned into a wicked crosswind, I was able to ride that wind on the way back and recover a little. Definitely getting passed by a lot of stronger bikers. Like I said it's my weakness. Legs were tight but ready for the run. Bike time: 44:00, 18.1 mph pace, around 250th overall.

T2: Much better than the first transition. Dropped off the bike grabbed my watch and took off the jersey, it was hot!!! About a minute flat.

Run: Flat! Stretch out the legs and felt loose after about 4 minutes, shortened stride and tried to pick up the pace a little. At the turnaround I felt it in my gut, I had to take a crap!!! 1.5 miles to go, suck up the pain and hammer down! Pick off runners one by one and keep looking ahead to the next guy. Finish line was in sight and started the kick. Before I knew it I had finished my first tri. Run time 20:30, 6:50 per mile, about 60th overall.

Awesome experience! My chip malfunctioned and didn't have me finishing the run but I had my time on the watch, total time about 1:14:30 placing me around 120th. Funny thing is my finish line photo was one of the main pictures used to advertise the event for 2012, but the race results had me at DNF, nut it's all good. I knew I had finished!